Jonnin

quite a lot of guns do not drop clean. Sometimes you can fix it by polishing the mag walls, sometimes not. You could possibly fix it with a weight in the follower or under it, as well, in some cases. I would say its about 50/50 on drop vs stuck for any random selection of handguns. If possible, I would prefer it to drop on out with a firm but not excessive or difficult press of the release button, which should be possible to put on either side of the gun. Worst case, a RHO release that does not drop out. Not too bad are heel releases which can be done slight of hand style (makarov, for example). Also, and quasi related, I would prefer the gun fire without a mag. Guns that require a mag to fire are worthless to me for carry.

They are still around but no longer produce 9x18 ammo. They own glaser safety slug & powerball, which may or may not still come in 9x18 (I am not sure!). But the old corbon 9x18 JHPs are not produced. edit looks like safety slug and power ball both still are made in 9x18 -- 70 grain rounds.

still applies ---- just about anything you do that is stable will hit min-o-thug at combat range (under 15 yards). I have limited experience with unstable rounds, but the ones I have inadvertently created all hit min-o-thug as well, just not X ring type accuracy. That said, you might consider intentionally keyholing if you stumble across an unstable load <evil grin>. I would prefer that to expansion, actually (?). I think you should break out the chrony for your testing, since you have one anyway...

hornady, corbon (no longer?), buffalo bore (probably the best?), a few others made SD makarov ammo. And places that have NO plinking ammo will carry a box or 2 of defense ammo in the caliber. Sellier and belliot sell brass cased plinking ammo which used to be quite a deal but is pricy now. I have not seen cheap brass cased in a long, long time.

The farther away you can get, with a controlled test, the more it will be clear which loads were the best. Locked in a rest, at 5 or even 10 yards, almost anything you do will go into the same hole so long as the load is stabalized and the powder charges are within 1/2 a grain or so. I think if you repeated the above test at 5 yards with the rest, you would not be able to tell anything at all.... I would discard these results, unfortunately.

brass cased 9x18 is very expensive, and yes, sometimes more than even 380. Even trashy brass cased is high, $15 a box or more. That is where the problem lies most often --- some stores that do have 9x18 often only have the brass cased, or worse, SD ammo.

To be fair, the cheap 9x18 is steel cased. BUT the gun is designed for that, so it is not going to hurt it much. random google... http://www.ammunitio...akarov-fmj-ammo 1000 rounds, $205. 380, same brand and same site (russian bear ammo) was 500 rounds for 125, or 250 for 1000. edit --- silver bear mak is 215/1000. Better comparison.

Have you checked out ballistics by the inch? They tested .45 from 2 to 20 inches or thereabouts. Could be useful data for you, and they seem to be better than average scientists.

the first group (A?) and #10 look decent, given your bucket test. How far away was that? 6 and 7 also look good. Is 6 the same number of shots in 3 holes?? If so, it could be the best one! 12 as well if none went off paper and that flyer is human error.

Well, they are NOT the same. If properly concealed, no one is looking at you funny in public. That LOOK from other people is a big part of being comfortable, and a big deal with open carry. People, in general, no longer see a person with a gun as NORMAL, they see a THREAT and you have to make your own inner peace with the hassle of being looked at funny, having the cops called on you, being asked to leave places, and more when you OC. It is also not the same defensively. OC, the bad guy sees your gun and knows where it is, and that you have it. He can now prepare to take your gun from you from ambush, and formulate a plan to deal with you (or leave you alone in search of other prey). CC, the only thing keeping you from being comfortable is your own mental state. No one knows but you. I have never, even the first few days, been really uncomfortable with CC. I tried OC just a few times and it was very awkward for me, the stares and questions and all made me as jumpy as beavis on halloween.

lots of people have used them. It works fine. IIRC it is just a barrel replacement and maybe the recoil spring is lightened (?). The barrel is not easily replaced in an "actual makarov" --- you need a "barrel press" to get one in and out or a gunsmith to do the work. The barrel is pushed into the frame HARD and not really meant to be removed! This seems folly to me. 9x18 costs about like 9mm. 380 costs about 50% more. The 2 calibers are virtually the same unless handloading or carefully picking defense loads. All swapping to 380 does is cost more! If you have something other than a PM, like a cz82 or feg, some of those can be convereted and some cannot. Another thought: most of these guns are CHEAP. You can buy a 380 cal makarov for not much more than buying a barrel and paying a gunsmith to convert an existing one. Assuming $50 in labor and $80 for a barrel.... on a $200 gun.... Last thought: the PM in 9x18 is deadly accurate. I have made solid holes at 25 yards with it. I cannot vouch for the 380 at this accuracy.... I suspect it loses some of that. Much of the accuracy is the fixed barrel, but, I think the 9x18 cartridge is just inherently accurate and has an edge on the 380 --- I cannot prove it, but that is my opinion.

they are missing out on some $$$. It should instead require people to buy a liscense to exercise their constitutional right, same way they do other rights, for profits.

welcome! I had one of the fegs, and really like the 9x18 in general as everything I have tried in the caliber is just super accurate.

also, its a handgun permit. Not a knife, nunchuck, or shotgun etc permit. Handguns are defined in the law terms somewhere, somewhat vaguely, but well enough for most weapons to be either a Yes or No easily enough. If you have something you are not sure of it being a handgun or not, better ask. with the permit, you can have a rifle with ammo in its ammo supply device (magazine, tube, other) but not in the chamber ready to fire (off your property). On your property you can do as you like. The permit grants you NO leeway for carrying illegal knives or other weaponry, I think the rifle is the sole exception to things affected by the HCP that are not handguns. Without a permit, rifle is same as handgun, unloaded and no ready to use ammo near when off your property. There are NO restrictions on magazine capacity, number of guns owned, what guns you can carry on your permit (handguns that is), how many guns you can buy in a time frame, or anything else. You CAN buy and sell to individuals in the same state as you live without any government involved. You do NOT have to register your guns. Not sure what else you may have had to put up with in OH, but those are sort of common things from the north that are not common in the south.

He is indeed a great guy, got to talk with him a little on another forum where we were talking about his reviews, sort of like just happened here with the 1911 thread. Very nice pictures! Much better than his pics with the latest and greatest mousegun, dwarfed in his hand. Sometimes you have to really look hard to see the gun with all the small stuff on the market lately

well, its true. If you are in fear, you get out of there. Pursue and confront is never a good plan unless you seek to save someone else from being harmed. Look at the recent case where a guy got out of his car to pursue someone.... its just a poor idea for any civillian to do that without a very, very, very good reason.

I may be interested, depends on what all is going on for me when it goes down -- its a managable drive from here. On top of that I have a couple of blades that need a handle, and one knife that needs to be "rebuilt".

5 more years would have been worth it to cap the jerk.... but that says "during a crime". What crime was she doing that pulling a firearm upped the charges? If she was not commiting a crime at the time of the gunshot, the above should not apply. Something isnt right.

I third that. Tight guns are target guns, and that is an important class of 1911s but its not the only, or best, way to go for all of them. If nothing else, the first time you try to get a bushing out that is in there with a nanometer clearance, you will be glad to have a loose one.

1) tied colt, ruger, cz, EG makarov, eaa/tangfoglio, sig, browning 2)beretta, IMI (old desert eagle) 3) glock, FEG ----------------- all the ones below gave some sort of trouble at least once. 3)para 4)s&w, kel tec edits: as I remember them I add them in.

not a super-expert but I am reasonably certain that getting it fixed is going to cost more than its worth in actual dollars. You really need a second opinion on this, though.

so sorry to hear this ;;

Not everyone is a 25 year old big ol' bubba built like a plumber. I can point you to at least 4 women I know that LW jam a glock at least once per mag, if not more. (Plenty of women can handle the guns, this is a strength issue with specific individuals). My wife is one of them. And, the problem was at its worst when she got in a hurry, for example trying to do drills with multiple targets. Its not a glock thing, many lightweight, subcompact guns are prone to LW problems, but such guns are a constant source of problems to weaker/infirm shooters and, worse, many of those shooters are unable to diagnose what the source of the problem even is (inexperienced shooters). I can shoot the 17c without LW jams but it still had so much recoil I had to re-aim after every shot because of the jerks. I am not strong enough to hold lightweights on target for rapid fire.

I am not too big into the conspiricy theroy stuff. So my take on polls is that the problem is you have liberal arts guys (journalists) trying to do math and science (the stuff they went out of the way to avoid in college!). And that is on par with a gorrila trying to use a fork and spoon to eat --- they can mimic, but it just ain't right, you know? Very few of these pollsters seem to understand the scientific method. Most of them can do statistics (which a smart 5th grader can also do if taught the formulas) but its deeper than that. To do a poll "right" you have to understand the math, science, psychology, and english/communications, and more all at a pretty deep level. Are some of the pollsters trying to push an agenda? Yes, I think so. Are a lot of them just too stupid to do a meaningful poll of any sort? I think that is the majority of them, and the problem, personally.

As an aside, I think the majority of posted velocities for 22LR are from a rifle barrel of 18-20 inches. And for other calibers, the data is often from very large guns as well, for example i suspect 9mm velocity written on the box is out of a 6 or so inch barrel monster. Velocity is used to one - up the competition and is given under the best normal use conditions. They get away with it for 22 because many use 22 in a rifle. They do not push the 9s out of a carbine as that is an uncommon use. But you can bet the posted velocity is from ideal conditions and is for marketing purposes. About all you can do with them is a rough comparison between brands, and even then, if they are close, its meaningless. Another aside: the new black painted ammo at walmart, in a 1000 round box, is very good in the guns we have tested it. Wincheser M-22 ammo is the name. So far, I really like this stuff.